


Follow the Lead

by r2metoo



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Dogs, M/M, Macarons, Mistaken Identity, Mmmm, Nothing Supernatural, Sheriff's name is John, cute idiots in love, descriptions of yummy macarons, dog grooming, enough to make you want one, groomer stiles, the french kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 12:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4138362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r2metoo/pseuds/r2metoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles' favorite customer is Laura Hale and her little Cocker Spaniel. A handsome man comes into his shop one day with the dog, and Stiles learns Laura had a bad accident, he also learns that she has a very handsome husband...he is her husband, right? </p><p>Just playing with one of my favorite tropes-mistaken identity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Follow the Lead

The city of Beacon Hills was large enough to support a petcare superstore that held a grooming salon within, and it did decent business. In the town proper, however, was an older salon that had been there for well over sixty years, and though the current owner was not the original owner, there were those who preferred his cuts to those churned out at the commercial store.

 

The young proprietor, whose name was Stiles, came by the shop in a curious way. He grew up in the town and worked at the shop for several summers during high school and college, where he studied computer design and art. After years in a very competitive field, however, living in a cramped city in a cramped apartment, he found himself tired, overworked, underpaid, and severely homesick.

 

His father, the retired sheriff, had a heart attack, and Stiles decided he wanted to return home and care for him. The veterinarian, whose practice was just across the street from the salon, was Stiles’ best friend growing up, and told Stiles about the business. Stiles bought it on impulse, and had been happy ever since.

 

The best part was that the store next door sold cupcakes and macarons, and they owned four Bedlington Terriers. Stiles kept the dogs groomed every month, and received an unlimited supply of pastry in return. Currently, he had a selection of black cherry and currant macarons under a dome on a pretty cake pedestal that his friend Lydia had purchased for him when she saw they were sitting on a chipped plate from home under a crumpled bit of plastic wrap.

 

The bell above the door chimed, alerting Stiles to his eleven-thirty appointment, only instead of Laura Hale’s usual banter about what sorts of goodies were under the glass dome, a very male voice said, “Wow, what a strange looking dog.”

 

Stiles looked over his shoulder at the man and reined in his cutting comment, saying only, “Yes, they are very odd looking for dogs.”

 

“Looks like a sheep,” the man said.

 

Stiles nodded. “Yes, exactly. That’s what it’s supposed to look like.”

 

The man just shrugged it off, as though that were the most natural thing for Stiles to say. He immediately went off the defensive, and decided that maybe this guy wasn’t so bad. Besides, Bedlingtons _were_ rather odd looking dogs.  Feeling charitable, Stiles gave him the benefit of the doubt and set his Bedlington down from the table, then turned to his new customer and was surprised to note that while he didn’t recognize the man, the dog attached to the leash was his next customer.

 

“Hi, Charlie!” he said brightly to the English Cocker Spaniel, who panted happily at Stiles. Most dogs didn’t like coming to the salon any more than they liked coming to the vet, but a few, like Charlie, enjoyed their time with Stiles.

 

Stiles was wracking his brain to try and remember Laura’s husband’s name. He’d never met the guy because, according to Laura, he was out of town on business a lot. “Are you…sorry…Don?”

 

“Derek Hale,” the man corrected.

 

Stiles laughed. “I knew I’d get it wrong. Sorry. I thought you were out of town, and I’m a creature of habit, so I’m sorry that you’re throwing me off. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. How is Laura?”

 

“Um…Laura told me to tell you…you’re Stiles, right?” At Stiles’ nod, the man continued, “Okay, Laura told me to tell you not to worry about her, and that she was just in a small accident, and that’s why she wasn’t here today.”

 

Stiles paused at the computer where he was pulling up Charlie’s file on his computer. “Laura was in an accident?”

 

Derek nodded. “But it was worse than she’s making it out to be. Her pelvis is fractured, and her left tibia…her knee is shattered, and…well, it’s bad.”

 

Stiles shook his head. “My god. Poor Laura. Is she in the hospital? Is she really okay, though?”

 

Derek lifted one shoulder. “She’s healing. But a lot of surgery is in her future. That’s why I’m here, I’m…I’m going to take care of her.”  

 

Stiles nodded, approving, then turned back to his computer, checking Charlie in, and asking Derek for a phone number to call when Charlie was done. “If you can just sign, I’ll take Charlie from you, and I’ll give you a call to come for him in a few hours.”

 

Derek nodded and handed over Charlie, and then Stiles was left alone with the dogs. “Your mommy and daddy are gorgeous,” he told Charlie. “Seriously, bless their future sprogs. That’s just fab for humanity.”

 

Charlie whined and pawed at Stiles’ pant leg, so he went back to his job. When he finally called Derek to come and pick up the dog, he had managed to procure a small get well basket from the various shops surrounding his. Laura tried to spend her money in town with local businesses, so of course most of the proprietors wanted her back on her feet soon. Derek looked positively overwhelmed by the boxes of food, vase of flowers, and large card signed by all.

 

“Wow.”

 

Stiles shrugged. “Laura means a lot to all of us.”

 

Derek smiled. “Me too.”

 

Stiles smiled back. “Yeah, I’m sure you of all people feel that way.”

 

“Well, the feelings must be mutual between the two of you, because she said you were to have this.” Derek pulled a twenty from his pocket as a tip to Stiles. He pulled out another twenty. “This is from me. For organizing all of this. I’ll tell her you did it.”

 

Stiles took the tip from Laura, but refused the tip from Derek, insisting that he organized the goodwill basket because he was the first who knew about it, and that any of the shopkeepers would have done the same in his place. Derek seemed a bit dubious about that assertion, but nodded and simply thanked Stiles again.

 

Stiles watched him go, slightly wistful.

 

}o{

 

“One of my clients was in an accident,” Stiles said to his dad that night.

 

“The dog or the human who owns it?” John asked, his voice a little dry.

 

Stiles rolled his eyes at his dad and said, “The lady who owns the dog. Laura. I believe she was hit by a car.”

 

“That’s too bad,” John said. “This girl…do you like her?”

 

Stiles shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. She’s a good client, always tips. Nice lady.”

 

John raised his eyebrows. “Is she pretty? Available? Interested back?”

 

Stiles nearly choked on his dinner. “Yes, no, and I’m not interested, so…”

 

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but…Malia Tate just moved back in with her dad a few days ago. I saw them today at the grocery store.”

 

Stiles felt something burn in his chest. He and Malia had been high school sweethearts, but they had broken off when they went to college, and then she had married someone else in her sophomore year. Stiles hadn’t begrudged her getting married, he’d just always felt it was a really quick decision. He also fully acknowledged it wasn’t his decision to make.

 

“Is she okay?” He hadn’t talked to Malia since her engagement announcement.

 

John nodded, then did the “iffy” motion with his hand. “She’s getting divorced.”

 

Well, Stiles couldn’t really fault someone for moving back in with their dad. He had done that, after all.

 

“Didn’t she have a child?” Stiles wasn’t obsessively following after Malia’s life, but he’d heard some.

 

“Husband is suing for custody,” John murmured. “Look, son, it’s your life here, and I’m trying to not interfere, but…you always liked this girl. She’s back in town, she’s single. Maybe you two can go out, reconnect over living with your fathers again after all these years. The usual.”

 

“I don’t know, Dad. If she’s rebounding…”

 

John shrugged. “If she’s rebounding, then you’re even better off. No awkward relationship stuff, no commitments.”

 

At his waggling eyebrows, Stiles buried his head in his hands. His own father was pimping him out!

 

}o{

 

Malia Tate was a sociopath. Stiles was beginning to remember high school, and constantly reminding her that group projects weren’t an episode of _Survivor_ , and that she couldn’t just vote people out of the group because she didn’t feel they were doing their proper job. He also remembered when Lydia Martin had crashed her car into a tree and had been trapped in the driver’s seat. Stiles and Scott had been frantically attempting to cut the seatbelt when the engine caught fire, and Malia had run off and not helped at all, saying that she wasn’t going to risk her life to save someone else.

 

Stiles was just managing to extract himself from the situation by telling a lie that was so incoherent, if Malia hadn’t obviously been trying to make an exit herself, she probably would have picked up on it.

 

Stiles didn’t want to go home right away and admit to his dad that they would probably be domestic life partners until they died because Stiles was clearly unable to have any sort of relationship when he ran into Derek Hale again. He looked like he was doing some shopping, and was staring in the pastry shop at the cupcake display.

 

“Derek!”

 

“Oh, Stiles! Hi.”

 

Stiles smiled and noted once again how lucky Laura was. Derek was very handsome, and he looked great in a tight shirt that stretched across his chest.

 

“How’s Laura doing?”

 

Derek looked down. “She’s not doing great. Not really. They have to reconstruct her knee entirely, and the metal plate holding her thigh bone together got an infection.”

 

Stiles paused. “Wow. Wow, Derek, I’m so sorry. Really, I can’t…if you want, I can take Charlie for a few days? I have a big backyard where he can run around, and then you can just focus on her.”

 

Derek looked truly grateful. “That’s really nice of you, but Charlie is one of the few things that’s really helping her right now. Her spirits are a little…well, I’m sure you’ve heard the gossip. It’s hard to keep a stiff upper lip when all of that nastiness is swirling around you.”

 

Stiles actually _hadn’t_ heard any gossip about Laura, but that wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t that no one told him anything, it was that he generally didn’t listen to it. “I’m sure you and Charlie make it better,” Stiles said, hoping he was being reassuring. He was never sure about that sort of thing. “I’m positive she’s happy you’re home with her.”

 

Derek smiled widely, and Stiles was struck by just how incredibly good-looking he was. “Handsome” just didn’t seem extreme enough to describe him. “You’re a great guy, Stiles. I can see why your shop is so popular with the dog owners in town.”

 

}{

 

Stiles eventually did hear the rumor, whether he wanted to or not. The florist was the first one to say, “Did you hear about Laura? She’s getting divorced.”

 

Stiles grimaced, then smiled lightly. “That’s not our business, Matt.”

 

Stiles couldn’t get the idea of Laura and Derek divorcing out of his head, though. Derek seemed to genuinely care about Laura, so Stiles had to surmise that Laura, feeling down, must be pushing him away. He knew how independent she was, and there was also the fact that Derek was constantly out of town, leaving Laura alone, and he only came back now that she was in a horrible accident that left her unable to do anything other than lay in bed. He could see her side of the equation.

 

Well, he wasn’t a meddler. He wished them both the best, but a few weeks later, someone mentioned that Derek Hale was looking at the new loft apartments on Ninth Street. He felt heartbroken and wished there was something he could do. If he had heard about this before he had met Derek, he would have assumed that Derek was just a jerk who left Laura alone all the time, but he’d met the guy. Derek was nice, seemed kind and caring, and cared enough about Laura to continue bringing Charlie in every month for his grooming appointments, and Charlie looked up at Derek like he hung the moon.

 

It was two weeks after Charlie’s second drop-off with Derek that Derek came back to Stiles’ shop with a small grey bit of fur in his hands. Derek’s eyes were huge and puppy-dog, like Scott the time he accidentally ran over a cat’s tail while riding his bike.

 

“Derek!”

 

It was a slow day for Stiles. He’d touched up Mrs. Haversham’s three spoiled, fat Shih-Tzu’s and was waiting for Allison to bring in her little terrier mix that looked remarkably like a Mexican Hairless.

 

“Stiles, I…” he looked down at the small dog that looked positively miniscule in Derek’s strong arms, but was probably about Schnauzer size. “Some kids were throwing stones at him outside of my apartment, and Doc McCall said it was okay for you to get him cleaned up.” He jerked his head in the direction of the veterinary practice across from Stiles’ salon.

 

Stiles took the bundle and nodded. “I might have to shave it completely right now. It’s pretty matted. Are you going to keep it?”

 

“Well, I’d like a dog. Laura has Charlie, you know. I’d like a dog, too, I think.”

 

The small dog was feather-light and trembling. Its fragile bones could be felt underneath the mats, and it whimpered pitifully when Stiles felt to see how deep the mats were. He might have to have Scott sedate the poor thing if they were too tight.

 

“Look, why don’t you go down to the coffee shop, and I’ll shave him down and call you when I’m done, okay?”

 

Derek nodded, his big green eyes still drooping like a puppy’s, tugging at Stiles’ heart strings. He wondered if this dog was something Derek was trying to use to prove to Laura that he was committed. Stiles was determined to help Derek and Laura in any way he could. He wanted them to be happy together.

 

Stiles made it through the mats with his 10 blade, pausing only to pull off the occasional tick, and nearly laughed to himself when he was shaving down the dog’s ears. He was pretty sure he’d figured out the breed of the dog, but the question was whether a burly manly-man like Derek would appreciate owning a dog called a “Schnoodle.”  

 

The water in the bath ran brown and muddy for four washes until finally on the fifth wash, the water ran clear. Stiles washed the dog once more after that, and added a good conditioner that he let settle for several minutes, just to try and give the poor thing back some of its natural oils. Big brown eyes stared up at him under thick black lashes and light grey eyebrows.

 

Yes, Derek Hale probably had a Schnauzer/Poodle mix. A female one at that, and she had the sweetest little face. Stiles liked Schnauzers, they were one of his favorite dogs. Their breed cut was actually a really quick deal most of the time, even if the dog was matted, and he loved their personalities. Mixing the breed with poodles was becoming popular, because they often did not have the skin issues that the full-bloods had, and they tended to be lighter and have better hair. 

 

He worked hard to salvage her facial hair, and in the end had cut a passable Schnauzer face. The eyebrows were hopelessly short, and her beard was nearly nonexistent, though he still had everything in perfect little triangles. Her ears had been overgrown on the inside, and it was a miracle that she didn’t have an infection anywhere. She watched him with her big eyes while he plucked her ears out, flinching now and then when he caught a deep hair in his hemostats. He didn’t completely remove all the hair because he figured she would already be irritated after all the mats, the removal process, and the long bath. Since there was no infection, removing all the hair wouldn’t be necessary. He could get the rest next time.

 

It was when he was done and admiring the little girl that he suddenly realized he didn’t have Derek’s phone number. He had been writing it on Charlie’s card, but he threw those out at the end of the week once he had inputted any relevant information in the computer, but he’d never inputted Derek’s cell number because he had only two places for numbers, and one was Laura’s home, the other her cell.

 

He could walk down to the coffee shop, but just because he’d suggested it to Derek, that didn’t mean he’d actually gone there, and he hated leaving the shop when he had dogs inside.

 

He sighed and lifted his phone. He didn’t want to bother Laura about this, but he sort of had to.

 

“Stiles!” Laura said. “I thought you’d forgotten me.”

 

Stiles laughed. “I could never forget you, Laura. How are you feeling?”

 

“Better,” she answered, sounding strong and honest. “My brother is driving me up a wall, though, with all his physical therapy crap and insistence on me being the bionic woman.”

 

Stiles chuckled, wondering when Laura’s brother had gotten into town. She mentioned him now and then, but Stiles knew nothing about him. “Your brother sounds like a great guy.”

 

“He thinks a lot of you,” Laura said. “In fact,” she added slyly, “he’s been grilling me about you for weeks now. I think your gift basket really made an impression on him.”

 

Stiles squinted, trying to think of when he’d met Laura’s brother. “Your brother?”

 

“Yes!” she laughed. “Oh, come on, Stiles, don’t be so modest. Derek’s been talking about you since he brought Charlie to you that first time.”

 

Stiles fishmouthed long after the awkward stage passed.

 

“Stiles?” Laura asked. “Are you still there?”

 

“Derek’s your brother?” he asked, trying to wrap his head around this new revelation. “But his name is Hale…he said Derek Hale.”

 

It was Laura’s turn to pause. “I kept my maiden name when I got married. Don…he has a different last name.”

 

So her husband’s name _was_ Don! Stiles had thought so. “Wow.”

 

“You thought Derek was my husband?” Laura asked.

 

Stiles huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. Geez.”

 

Laura was laughing too, quietly. “But wait, you were nice to him! Didn’t you know my husband left me for his travel agent?”

 

Stiles was stunned. “Um, no? I heard you guys were having difficulties, and that Derek took an apartment in town, but I thought you were working on it.” He laughed again. “Dang, I was rooting for you!”

 

“Oh, Stiles,” Laura chuckled.

 

Stiles felt like an idiot. “I think there was a miscommunication along the lines somewhere.”

 

“Sounds like it. So, why are you calling me? Because if you’re going to ask if I need anything, I’m woefully out of raspberry macarons. Could use some pistachio ones, too.”

 

“Noted. And I’m calling because I neglected to write down Derek’s number, and he dropped off some poor rescue dog earlier, and now it’s finished.”

 

Laura paused. “So, you heard we had marital trouble, and you thought it would be good to call me?”

 

“Hey, you just said he was your brother!” Stiles reminded her. “And I thought…I thought you’d remember how sweet he is.”

 

There was another long pause, and then Stiles realized she was laughing.

 

“Okay, okay, it was stupid. But you know, my life’s kind of shit right now, and I thought I could help someone else maybe not have such a shit life for once!”

 

He hadn’t really ever said it out loud. And it wasn’t that his life was so bad, it was just…it was sort of depressing to be so near thirty and moving back in with his dad because buying the salon had sucked out all of his savings and it was rare that he was in the black rather than the red at the end of the month. Plus, he was convinced that if he didn’t cook for his father every night and stock the refrigerator with only organic, heart-friendly options, his dad would die.

 

“Oh, Stiles,” Laura said again, this time with true sympathy in her voice. “Okay, do you have a pen? Because you really need to call my brother.”

 

Stiles took down Derek’s number, and then suddenly felt jumpy. Since he’d been viewing Derek as Laura’s husband, he’d not really thought much beyond the fact that he was a very nice looking man, who seemed kind and caring about Laura. Now that he knew Derek was not Laura’s husband, and presumably single (if he’d just read his conversation with Laura correctly), he was trying to view Derek as something else.

 

He’d like to view Derek as something else. It was just so sudden, though, to put on the brakes and do a full 180. He was still trying to figure this out when Derek walked into the shop with two coffee cups, and a large smile in place.

 

“Hey, I don’t mean to rush you, I was just checking on him.”

 

Stiles stared at Derek blankly the phone cradled in his hand still. In his other hand, he was holding the dog against his chest.

 

“Oh, hey! Is that him? My dog?”

 

Stiles shook himself out of his stupor and set the phone on the counter. “Yes. It’s her. I, uh…I was just talking to your sister. She wants some raspberry and pistachio macarons from next door.”

 

“I think I can handle that,” Derek said. “So it’s a girl? And a Schnauzer!”

 

Stiles chuckled. “Yeah, could be a mix. Um…do you still want to keep her?”

 

Derek reached out a hand and let the dog sniff him. She immediately leaned into his touch and panted happily at him, so Stiles handed her over.

 

“I had to shave her with my shortest blade, so you probably need a sweater. Take any of the ones there on the wall, no charge.”

 

Derek raised an eyebrow and looked at the sweaters. “Um…”

 

“Until her hair grows back, unless you want her to freeze to death, you’d probably better,” Stiles pressed. “Really, Derek, it’s not that bad.”

 

Derek huffed and moved to the little boutique area where Stiles had an assortment of specialty leashes, collars, harnesses, and clothes. He didn’t make a large amount of sales from that area, so the selection was pretty limited, but he did have a couple of plain, not-overly-girly sweaters. He was surprised when Derek went for the one with the huge spangled heart on it.

 

“I think she’d be cute in this one, don’t you? And then everyone would know that she’s a girl, too. I guess I also need a leash and a collar, huh?”

 

Stiles grabbed a hot pink set that had rhinestones and silver spikes set into it. “Because she’s fancy, but she’s still deadly, you know?”

 

Derek laughed at that and tried the collar on the dog. “I like it,” he said. “Looks pretty with her grey fur, right?”

 

“Absolutely.” Stiles helped Derek put the sweater on the dog, and then asked the most important question. “What are you going to call her?”

 

Derek shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s a schnauzer, right? That’s German, so how about a German name?”

 

“Do you know any German names?”

 

“Heidi?”

 

Stiles shook his head. “No, everyone names their dog Heidi. How about Brunnhildr? No one ever names their dog Brunnhildr.”

 

Derek shot Stiles a look that was both amused and judgmental. “There may be a reason for that.”

 

Stiles took a step closer to Derek. “Well, okay, big guy. What’ve you got?”

 

Derek took a step closer. “Schatzi? That’s German for “Sweetheart.””

 

“I only know the Polish word for sweetheart.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Stiles suddenly realized how close they were standing, practically chest-to-chest with pretty much just the dog between them. “ _Kochanie_.”

 

“Kokchkch-han-ya,” Derek echoed, trying to get the soft, guttural “ch” sound just right. “How do you say, “Would you like to go to dinner with me” in Polish?”

 

Stiles licked his lips. “I don’t know. I never really learned it.”

 

Derek brushed the back of his hand down Stiles’ cheek. “Maybe I should ask you in English then?”

 

“I know how to say yes in Polish. Tak. In German? Ja. In Spanish? Si.”

 

Derek leaned forward, but just before he could kiss Stiles, the dog yipped in that high-pitched eardrum-splitting way that schnauzers had. Both Derek and Stiles laughed and patted her on the head.

 

“So Schatzi?” Stiles said, coming back to the present.

 

“Schatzi,” Derek echoed. “I like it.”

 

“Me too.”

 

Derek stroked Stiles’ cheek again. “I like you.”

 

“Me too….wait. I mean. Yeah. I like you, too.”

 

“Tonight?”

 

“Oui. That’s French. Wanna know what else I know in French?”

 

“Tell me tonight.”

 

Stiles smiled at Derek. “Oh, I intend to.”


End file.
